Friday Thrive

Friday Thrive

Happy Friday! Each week, Friday Thrive rounds up noteworthy running articles for discussion. Here’s what I enjoyed reading this week:

Friday Thrive

Run, Write, Repeat

Runners have a propensity for writing, as evidenced by the proliferation of running blogs and magazine and events such as Lauren Fleshman’s running-and-writing Wilder retreat. This Runner’s World article, “Pros Share 3 Ways Writing Can Make You a Better Runner” examines how writing about your running can help you achieve your goals. I maintain training logs in both virtual form (this blog) and handwritten form, and I really do believe journaling about workouts can give perspective, sharpen focus, and inspire you to dream big.

Exercise Gives Your Endorphins. Endorphins Make You Happy. 

Anecdotally, runners will tell you that running makes them happy – and now, research is supporting the connection between physical activity and a cheerful mood. Past research focused more on how exercise reduces depression and anxiety; the New York Times summarizes studies that look at the positive correlation of exercise and happiness in the article “Even a Little Exercise Might Make Us Happier.” The study found that even 10 minutes a couple times per week boosted mood – but more frequent exercisers reported even higher levels of happiness.

(Name the movie that features the quote in the subheading.)

Brain Training that Fits Your  Training Plan

By now, the notion that psychological factors affect performance is not novel. The most successful runners – whether on a large scale or personal level – possess a strong mental game. This interesting article from Triathlete divides brain training into similar periods of training as you follow in your running plan – base, race specific, and sharpening/taper. The length of the periods are longer than most runners use due to the nature of the triathlon, but it is certainly a concept that could be applied to a 12 or 16 week training plan.

Playing with Speed

Fartleks are one of my favorite multi-purpose workouts. I love them for introducing speedwork, providing an effort-based alternative to the track, and shaking up the monotony of marathon training. Typically, I prescribed structured fartleks to my athletes and run them myself – but the idea of unstructured workouts intrigues me (and intimidates me a bit, because I do like structure). In this article on Strength Running, Jason Fitzgerald breaks down the purpose of fartleks and how to incorporate both structured and unstructured fartleks into your training. 

[Tweet “Catch up on this week in #running with @thisrunrecipes #FridayThrive “]

Do you prefer structured or unstructured workouts?
Do you keep a paper training log or training journal?

Sign Up for My Newsletter for More Running Tips

* indicates required

Share this post

12 Responses

  1. I definitely prefer structured workouts! I think it would be interesting to try unstructured ones but i feel like I would end up adding some sort of structure to them anyway. I primarily just document my workouts on my blog but when I’m working towards a goal I also like to write in my training journal.

  2. I much prefer structured workouts and I always document my workouts and how I feel after, especially as I’m coming back to running after labral repair surgery in my hip. And that quote is from Legally Blonde!?

  3. Can’t wait to read that brain training article, sounds interesting!

    I definitely prefer structured workouts. I’ve always had my best results on training that features old school, tried-and-true, simple workouts: 400s, 800s, plain vanilla tempo runs. Maybe it’s because I like structure in general, so training that way makes me feel more confident. Whether structured or unstructured, I think as long as you are pushing out of your comfort zone in the workouts, you will see the benefits!

  4. I definitely prefer structured workouts – even if I plan to do an unstructured fartlek, I find myself mentally adding some kind of structure as I go through the workout.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *